Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:
Florida: After 28 years Jacksonville’s Maritime Museum shutting down after Xmas. It’s blamed on crashing donations. In Palm Beach the owners of Blondies, a restaurant known for serving ‘breakfast’ for ‘dinner’, shut it down after four successful years blaming the greedy landlord. In Miami Beach, the operators of restaurant Piola South Beach say they’re being shutdown by the greedy landlord, after 15 years: “There was no form of negotiation nor effort made from the other party to come to a civilized agreement amongst partners who had been together for over a decade.”-Angelo Angiolliori, manager
The South Florida Business Journal also blamed greedy landlords: “Investors are having to justify their record-high purchases with record-high rents. And it’s becoming increasingly difficult for restaurants and independent companies to make a profit while paying more than $300 per square foot….”
Idaho: Taxpayers are funding $467,435 USD in utility connections for the new Inn at 500 Capitol in Boise. As usual the taxpayer funding is going to a ‘foreign’ outfit, Obie Development Partners in Oregon. What’s really interesting is how news outlets in Boise can’t seem to get the story right; in March, Boise Weekly said it’s a ten story hotel with 180 rooms. But then in April, Boise Weekly said it was a seven story hotel with 104 rooms. The latest Idaho Business Review report says it will have 113 rooms. The new hotel, partially funded by local taxpayers, isn’t expected to be completed until December 2016. Also in Boise, the taxpayer owned 8th and River streets property will be developed into a condominium (“Prices will start in the high 200s [that’s $200-thousand], he said, and escalate from there.”) The property is owned by taxpayer funded Capital City Development Corporation, the condominium (to be called The Afton) will be built by Mike Hormaechea who refuses to say how much it will cost (he also claims to already have buyers for the condos). The first phase might be finished by early 2017.
Illinois: In Shiloh, after six years Lacefield Music store shutdown. The owners say they are forced to look for a new location, but will continue to teach piano in the meantime. Farm and construction vehicle maker Deere (John Deere) notified employees at their Davenport Works and Harvester Works of impending layoffs due to crashing sales. 180 jobs lost by the beginning of October (that’s on top of the 1-thousand 5-hundred Deere employees already laid off). Deere administrators also forecasted that sales would crash another 21% before the end of 2015, directly blaming a lack of recovery in the construction industry: “We thought construction would be up, but that hasn’t happened, yet.”-Ken Golden
Louisiana: Oil services company Baker Hughes issued a layoff WARN for 28 employees in Shreveport.
Maine: Lincoln Paper & Tissue shutting down one of three tissue machines, eliminating 25 jobs. The shutdown will take place over the next few days. The tissue is made for napkins, towels, table covers and health care products.
Maryland: Gaithersburg based Hudson Trail Outfitters announced it is shutting down all stores after almost 50 years of sales, blaming the crashing economy: “The retail landscape has changed so much within the last 36 months and the company has decided that the time has come to begin to ‘wind down’ all company affairs.”-Sandy Cohan, ceo
Massachusetts: Electronics retailer Best Buy continues to shut down stores, this time their Hampshire Mall and Berkshire Mall stores. 127 jobs affected by the end of October!
Mississippi: Electronics retailer Best Buy continues to shut down stores, this time their Jackson store on Ridgewood Court shutting down by the end of October, 61 jobs affected.
New York: Bankrupt Coyne International Enterprises issued a shutdown WARN for all four of their Commercial Laundry Services, 150 jobs lost by the end of October! Despite the Affordable Care Act, taxpayer funded disabled persons’ care home Broome Developmental Center being shutdown in 2016, patients being forced into privately run care centers. One percenter former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg to eliminate an additional 80 jobs at his Bloomberg news media ops, by Labor Day. God refuses to stop ‘his’ College of Saint Rose from instituting layoffs and program cuts due to a $9.3-million USD shortfall caused by The Rapture, I mean what I call Disappearing Students Syndrome: “Like many institutions across the country, enrollment at the College of Saint Rose has declined….”-Lisa Haley Thomson
North Carolina: In Burlington, after two years Verona Italian Restaurant shutdown. In Greensboro, Graffiti’s Bistro shutdown due to the owners realizing they can make more money selling it off. In Eden, after five years 912 Bethlehem Restaurant shutdown “for personal reasons”.
Pennsylvania: Stupid state ‘lawmakers’ have contracted with evil Too Big to Jail US Bank to provide debit cards for residents who meet strict qualifications as being ‘officially’ unemployed. Redner’s Warehouse Market grocery store in Trexlertown shutting down, 74 jobs lost by the end of September. It’s blamed on too much competition.
Texas: It’s been revealed that California based Hewlett Packard (HP) has been eliminating jobs in Houston since May! In total 70 people will be jobless by the end of the week. They’re getting severance so they won’t be counted as unemployed.
Virginia: In Richmond, after almost ten years successful doggy treat store Three Dog Bakery shutting down. Despite being a successful operation the operators haven’t been able to raise the funding necessary to become a full franchise store, as required in their license agreement with Missouri based Three Dog Bakery.
Washington DC: After seven years the Crime Museum shutting down due to the greedy landlord: “The Crime Museum’s landlord has decided to execute their rights under the lease agreement and request that we vacate the premises.”-Janine Vaccarello, coo
30 August 2015: “You are firing the wrong people here!”
WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification
Former employees who receive severance are not counted as unemployed
The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) no longer issues mass layoff reports: “On March 1, 2013, President Obama ordered into effect the across-the- board spending cuts (commonly referred to as sequestration) required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended. Under the order, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must cut its current budget by more than $30 million, 5 percent of the current 2013 appropriation, by September 30, 2013. In order to help achieve these savings and protect core programs, the BLS will eliminate two programs, including Mass Layoff Statistics, and all ‘measuring green jobs’ products. This news release is the final publication of monthly mass layoff survey data.”